China Perspectives 

2017/1 | 2017
Urban Planning in China

Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?) Urban

Development in China
An Overview of 20 Years of Sino-Singaporean Cooperation

Rémi Curien
Translator: Jonathan Hall

Electronic version
URL: http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/7183
DOI: 10.4000/chinaperspectives.7183
ISSN: 1996-4617

Publisher
Centre d'étude français sur la Chine contemporaine

Printed version
Date of publication: 1 March 2017
Number of pages: 25-35
ISSN: 2070-3449
 

Electronic reference
Rémi Curien, « Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?) Urban Development in China », China Perspectives
[Online], 2017/1 | 2017, Online since 01 March 2017, connection on 21 December 2020. URL : http://
journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/7183  ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/chinaperspectives.
7183

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 S peci al feature China per spectives

Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?)

Urban Development in China
An Overview of 20 Years of Sino-Singaporean Cooperation

RÉ MI CU RIEN

ABSTRACT: In order to face the challenge of sustainable urban development on its own territory, China has chosen Singapore as its model and
privileged partner. By analysing more than 20 years of cooperation, the aim of this article is to study what sort of vision and model for develop-
ment China is pursuing, how the “Singaporean model” is imported and incorporated by Chinese stakeholders, and in what ways it is transfor-
ming the specificities in planning, building, and organising the country’s cities. Our analysis covers two Sino-Singaporean urban operations
that are currently leading the way in China: the Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin eco-city. The incorporation of the Singaporean model
into these two operations shows that the latter offers an effective way of linking economic development with urban production, and of enabling
the building of orderly cities with good environmental standards. However, these advances have only been made possible by the capacity to take
political and financial initiatives that are still exceptional in the country as a whole, and until now do not appear to be easily extendable to other
Chinese cities. Moreover, the Sino-Singaporean view of urban development based on productivity and concentrating on supply, infrastructure,
and technology encounters major limitations in terms of environmental sobriety and the cities’ social integration.

KEYWORDS: urban planning, eco-city, sustainable urban development, environment, models, infrastructure, technology, institutions, China, Singapore.

Introduction States, France, Britain, Sweden, etc.), the most favoured country for bilateral
cooperation is Singapore, which Beijing sees as a model for sustainable

S
ince 1979 China has been undergoing rapid economic and urban de- urban development. The two main urban operations considered to be at the
velopment, with double-digit development up until 2013 and rapid cutting edge of national innovation are intergovernmental Sino-Singaporean
large-scale urbanisation (200 million city residents rising to the pre- projects: the Suzhou Industrial Park, launched in 1994, and the Sino-Singa-
sent 700 million). This prodigious development has allowed it to become a porean eco-city of Tianjin, launched in 2007.
major global power and to raise the living standards of a large part of its This article will analyse both of these projects, which represent two suc-
population. But it is also causing heavy damage to the environment, such cessive phases in Sino-Singaporean cooperation. (2) Through a diachronic
as the effects of climate change, the scarcity and pollution of water sources, analysis from the 1990s to the present we intend to see what vision and
air pollution, and the over-use and pollution of land, and so on. This envi- model for urban development is being followed by China, how the “Singa-
ronmental degradation is giving rise to serious worries over both the avail- porean model” has been adopted and incorporated by Chinese stakeholders,
ability and the sustainability of its natural resources, the health of the and in what ways and to what extent it is transforming the actual modalities
population, and even the long-term prospects for the Chinese economy. for planning, building, and running the nation’s cities.
In this context, after being heavily influenced by the Soviet model after 1949, (1)
from the 1990s onwards the Chinese government has tried to experiment with The convergent interests of China and
new urban planning models, and since 2006 it has been officially engaged in an Singapore
“environmental turnaround” with the stated ambition of switching to a devel-
opmental path requiring less use of resources and showing more concern for the Singapore, model of economic development
environment. In the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) it sets out national targets
calling for a 16% reduction in energy use, and an increase in the share of non-
1. Rémi Curien, “Chinese Urban Planning – Environmentalising a Hyper-Functionalist Machine?”,
fossil fuel in the overall mix by 2020 from 8% to 15%; this directive has been China Perspectives, 2014/3, pp. 23-31.
continued under the 13th Five-Year Plan. To achieve this goal, in 2008 it launched 2. This analysis is based on surveys conducted on the spot between 2012 and 2014 (interviews with
some ambitious economic programmes for circular economy and for “harmo- academics, administrative officials, industrialists, urban planners, and architects involved in these
projects), combined with an overall analysis that was part of a doctoral thesis: Rémi Curien, Ser-
nious” urban development, mainly implemented on the ground through dozens vices essentiels en réseaux et fabrique urbaine en Chine: la quête d’une environnementalisation
of nationwide projects for eco-industrial parks and eco-cities. dans le cadre d’un développement accéléré – Enquêtes à Shanghai, Suzhou et Tianjin (Utilities
networks and urban fabric in China: the quest for an environmentalisation in the context of an
Although China has pursued this objective by calling on expertise from accelerated development - Investigations in Shanghai, Suzhou and Tianjin), University of Paris-
many developed countries, particularly from the West (Germany, the United Est, 2014, pp. 452. The reader will find detailed references in this document.

No.2017/1 • china perspectives p e e r - r e v i e w e d a r t i c l e 25

S p e ci a l feat ure

Beijing’s choice of Singapore as model and privileged partner for urban facilities. Fourthly, Singapore is known for its maturity and its technological
development was primarily the outcome of an economic diagnosis. In 1979, innovations in the field of urban infrastructure – developed thanks to co-
the new Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and his government took note of operation with industrialised countries – especially in the water supply sec-
the poor state of the Chinese economy and the inefficiency of state enter- tor (in its effort to limit its dependence on Malaysia for water, it has
prises. They identified the main causes as the lack of capital and expertise developed water recycling systems currently considered among the most
and the low level of technological development. To remedy these, they un- advanced in the world). Fifthly, it offers a clean and pleasant physical urban
dertook reforms to open up the country: the introduction of market mech- setting, taking advantage of the abundant vegetation that has earnt it the
anisms and opening up to foreign capital, pro-urban policies, and name of “garden city.” (7) But we should note that Singapore faces a severe
liberalisation of the property market. (3) They opted particularly for the limitation: its high energy consumption and its extreme reliance on a supply
model based on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inspired especially by Sin- system dependent on fossil fuel.
gapore. Attracting foreign investment seemed to them the best way to in- The emergence of a “Singaporean urban model” in the early 1990s was at
ject capital, technology, and advanced management capabilities into the first a Singaporean initiative. As an entrepreneurial city-state, Singapore
Chinese economy, thereby creating wealth and dynamism in the local wanted to develop its external trade in order to overcome the economic
economies, and developing the country. limitations imposed by the smallness of its national area (720 square kilo-
Singapore was effectively an Asian pioneer in this field. (4) Following its in- metres). Emboldened by its own success and full of self-confidence, it un-
dependence in 1965, the city-state chose the FDI-oriented development dertook to export its urban model to China and countries of Southeast Asia
strategy, and the integration of foreign capital, technology, and develop- such as Indonesia (the Batamindo and Bintan projects) and Vietnam. (8) The
mental models. Its great success was shown by its rapid industrialisation Singaporean leadership set up international engineering and urban devel-
and strong economic growth. This successful outcome was due to its choice opment companies as extensions of its national agencies, such as Surbana
of strong state intervention in the economy, such as the creation of national (a branch of HDB) and Jurong International (a subsidiary of Jurong Town
capital funds, the establishment of large public enterprises, the institution- Corporation). These national agencies and private companies sell their ex-
alisation of savings on a national scale through income tax, and widespread pertise on the market and offer the construction of urban industrial parks
reliance on immigrant labour. Within three years Singapore moved from and residential complexes for export (at first mainly to Asia, then to the
being a Third World country to becoming a leading world economic power. Middle East and Africa). The slogan displayed by Singapore at the 2010
Supported by this success story, it rose to the ranks of global models on Venice Architecture Biennale symbolised this long-term strategy: “1,000
two accounts: on its own account, Singapore saw itself and projected that Singapores” offered the image of the 6.5 billion inhabitants of the world
view of itself as a model for Asian cities (5) within its strategy for expanding spread across 1,000 islands resembling Singapore as a sustainable global
foreign trade, but it was also a view shared by many Asian leaders. model. (9)

From the 1990s onwards Singapore has asserted Singapore is Beijing’s choice as a model and
itself as “urban model” privileged partner for urban development

Since the early 1990s, Singapore has built up its role as a model more par- The offer to supply on the part of Singapore met a demand on the Chinese
ticularly in the field of urban development and always in accordance with side. In the post-Maoist situation, Chinese leaders were aiming at rapid eco-
this dual process. From 1965 to the 1990s, development of the economy nomic growth, and in their view this had to take place through massive
went hand-in-hand with the urban development of the city-state. Let us urban development, so Singapore was an extremely attractive proposition.
begin by considering above all Singapore’s urban characteristics, which con- Close in cultural terms (the population of Singapore is more than 70% eth-
stitute the main aspects of its “urban model.” Firstly, Singapore is a strictly nically Chinese) and socio-politically close to the Chinese regime (hege-
controlled and regulated city. This is the result of its respect for and proper monic rule by a single authoritarian party) Singapore is for Beijing a model
implementation of long-term urban development plans, thus avoiding the of modernity and urban prestige compatible with the system in China. Sin-
erratic urban transformations that can arise from changes in government. (6) gapore is also the foreign country most inclined to invest large sums in
This stability and efficiency in urban planning are guaranteed by an author- China’s urban projects, probably because of the close cultural and socio-
itarian political regime and its specialised national agencies, such as the
Housing and Development Board (HDB) for public housing, and the Jurong 3. For the emblematic case of Shanghai, see Dominique Lorrain, “Gouverner Shanghai: une mod-
Town Corporation, which it created for industrial complexes. Secondly, Sin- ernisation publique,” (Governing Shanghai: A public modernisation) in Dominique Lorrain (ed.),
Métropoles XXL en pays émergents (The XXL metropolis in emerging nations), Paris, Presses de
gapore offers a very dense mode of urban setting through the establishment Sciences Po, 2011, pp. 53-138.
of residential communities consisting largely of tower blocks. Thirdly, it com- 4. Alexius A. Pereira, “The Suzhou Industrial Park Experiment: The Case of China-Singapore Govern-
bines industrial with urban development through the creation of “integrated mental Collaboration,” Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 13, No. 38, 2004, pp. 173-193.
5. Chua Beng Huat, “Singapore as Model: Planning Innovations, Knowledge Experts,” in Ananya Roy
industrial-residential communities” that enable the territory to become a and Aihwa Ong (eds.), Worlding Cities: Asian Experiments and the Art of Being Global, Malden,
support for economic growth, effectively combining economic and urban Blackwell Publishing, 2011, pp. 29-54.
development. The high quality of the infrastructure and the essential utilities 6. Ibid.
it provides (public roads, electricity, running water, gas, heating, cleaning, 7. Puay Yok Tana et al., “Perspectives on Five Decades of the Urban Greening of Singapore,” Cities,
Vol. 32, 2013, pp. 24-32.
telecommunications) and of its urban setting enable foreign investment to
8. Martin Perry and Caroline York, “Singapore’s Overseas Industrial Parks,” Regional Studies, Vol. 34,
be drawn in. This generates new jobs and a demand for housing and urban No. 2, 2000, pp. 199-206.
amenities, thus contributing to the financing of urban infrastructure and 9. Chua Beng Huat, “Singapore as Model: Planning, Innovations, Knowledge Experts,” art. cit.

26 china perspectives • No.2017/1

 Rémi Curien – Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?) Urban Development in China

Map 1 – Regional location of the SIP

REGIONAL LOCATION
OF THE SUZHOU
INDUSTRIAL PARK (SIP)

JIANGSU PROVINCE
SIP

Centre of
Suzhou City
Suzhou New District
SUZHOU CITY PREFECTURE (SND)

High Speed Railway

City of Suzhou
Highways

Airports
Main Railway
Lake Tai Stations
Administrative Bodies:

- Provincial Level
SHANGHAI MUNICIPALITY ZHEJIANG PROVINCE

- Prefectural Level
SUZHOU CITY PREFECTURE

- District Level
ZHEJIANG PROVINCE Kunshan

© R. Curien & Safege, 2014.

political proximity of the two regimes. So the interests of Singapore and dents. Its political and financial organisation has been largely shaped
China converge. by the Singaporean side, which makes it atypical. The project was es-
The first collaborative projects in the urban sector by China and Singapore tablished in two phases. Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Co.
were initiated in the early 1990s. (10) An intergovernmental programme for (SIPAC) was set up by the Chinese State Council to establish the SIP’s
training local Chinese leaders and managers was started in 1992. From 1994 political authority, and was put in charge of planning and regulating
onwards, leaving aside the SIP (the pioneering Sino-Singaporean project to the use of the land and natural resources, building works, and environ-
be discussed below), other projects were launched in China, especially in mental protection. The SIPAC is under the direction of the representa-
Dalian and Wuxi. tives of the central government and of Suzhou, in association with
representatives of Singapore. The special Sino-Singaporean agreement
Suzhou Industrial Park, the pioneering Sino- signed in 1994 provides for a programme of “transfer” of knowledge in
Singaporean project in China every sector of its urban development and management. The other im-
portant institution is the company set up to provide the land manage-
Initiated in 1994 and currently developed to 80% of the original plans, ment and infrastructure: China-Singapore Industrial Park Development
Suzhou Industrial Park has become both a gigantic industrial park and a no (CSSD). This is a Sino-Singaporean joint venture company (initially 65%
less gigantic new town, with 800,000 inhabitants and covering an area of Singaporean and 35% Chinese, but after 2001 these figures were in-
288 square kilometres. This project has required very strong Sino-Singa- verted). The huge Singaporean consortium is controlled by the govern-
porean collaboration and colossal investment. The SIP is located in the mid- ment of the city-state and includes several ministries and national
dle of the prosperous Yangtze Delta on the axis linking Suzhou to Shanghai, agencies – such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the Na-
and benefits from its strategic location adjoining the ancient city of Suzhou tional Environment Agency (NEA), and the Public Utilities Board (PUB)
and in close proximity to Shanghai. With the opening of the high-speed rail – as well as 24 large firms (11) (led by Keppel Land, the energy company
link, it is 45 minutes from central Shanghai. Singapore Technologies Industrial Corporation, and the developer Jurong
Town Corporation). The Sino-Singaporean consortium has undertaken
An atypical and high-level Sino-Singaporean to invest the equivalent of 20 billion dollars over a period of 20
institutional steering
10. Pien Wang et al., “Establishing a Successful Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture: The Singapore Ex-
perience,” Journal of World Business, Vol. 34, No. 3, 1999, pp. 287-305.
The SIP is controlled by a strategic partnership between the govern- 11. The Chinese consortium includes 12 major firms (notably the Bank of China, and Jiangsu Inter-
ments of China and Singapore, represented by their respective presi- national Trust and Investment).

No.2017/1 • china perspectives 27

S p e ci a l feat ure

By contrast, the SIP cultivates its own sophisticated brand image, with its
refined skyline, its recent and impressive administrative centre enhanced
by the location of its broad monumental square, and its remarkable
cityscape with its perspectival display and related water features. This aes-
thetic concern is still rare in China’s development zones. These attractions
are reflected in the SIP’s high property prices, which are close to those in
central Shanghai.
In spite of the functionalism of this urban setting, the SIP has become a
model of urban planning and environmental protection in China, as we will
see.

Emphasising infrastructure and utilities

In the Singaporean model for “integrated industrial-residential communi-

ties” that has been applied to the SIP, the quality of the infrastructure and
Photo 1 – Bird’s-eye view of the SIP in 2012 © R. Curien.
utilities plays a preponderant role in shaping the functional ensemble – ef-
fectively a machine for production – that fulfils the government’s main goal
years. (12) The prime objective behind the Chinese and Singaporean joint of attracting foreign investment. The very name of this entity, “Suzhou In-
effort in the SIP is to attract the maximum Foreign Direct Investment dustrial Park,” makes this logic explicit. The SIP is first of all an industrial
in order to stimulate Chinese local and national growth rates on the park designed to attract FDI, and only secondarily is it a “city” that combines
one hand, and generate direct profit returns on the other. employment and residential accommodation: production takes primacy
over living space. This fact explains why, apart from the establishment of
A vast integrated city-industrial park advantageous financial arrangements, environmental concerns have been
a major preoccupation from the outset on the part of the leadership. These
As in Singapore itself, the SIP initiated an integrated industrial and urban concerns are considered decisive for economic competitiveness. Guaran-
development. The first phase was planned in 1994 to be an area of 70 teeing high-quality utilities to the companies and building an agreeable life
square kilometres. In 2001, when the Chinese became majority shareholders, setting for their employees and residents have been important elements in
the administrative area was expanded to 288 km2. Since the early 2000s the strategy of creating an attractive brand image. This attention paid to
the SIP has undergone considerable development. At present the park in- environmental quality has taken two concrete forms (apart from the careful
cludes nearly 10,000 enterprises, of which 4,000 are international. The main landscaping): on the one hand the building and maintenance of high-quality
industrial production is in electronics, machinery, and pharmaceuticals, utilities, and on the other a system for controlling pollution that is likewise
which are fairly light industries and less polluting than the other major ones very sophisticated and strict regarding Chinese standards. (13)
in the country (petrochemicals, steel, etc.). The influence of the Singaporean model was preponderant in the choices
Nowadays the first thing to strike a visitor to the SIP is its urban character. of the SIP operational phasing. The first phase was the design and construc-
There are so many residential blocks, office blocks, and commercial centres tion of the infrastructure for essential services. Once those were in place,
that at first sight one wonders where the factories and industrial activities the development moved on to industrial activities. Next came the residen-
are. Next one is struck by the urban layout: tial buildings, and finally the installation of commercial activities. It must
- A large orthogonal road system forming a gigantic grid (two sets of two be stressed that this model demanded enormous basic investment, which
or three-lane highways with a total width of 50 to 60 metres), which bears was made possible by the exceptional political support of Singapore and
a closer resemblance to motorways than to streets; China. The Singaporean consortium, in particular, very quickly built an elec-
- An urban structural alignment of large rectangular blocks (several hun- trical sub-station and a water treatment plant for the exclusive use of the
dred metres wide) that are closed off (with only one or two entrances); park in order to guarantee the first tenant companies a constant supply of
- An arrangement of urban functions split strictly into sectors. All the electricity and high-quality water for industrial use. Nowadays the SIP in-
blocks are single-function, and there is a very clear separation of functions cludes a drinking water plant, two wastewater plants, and one sludge treat-
over the cityscape as a whole: there are industrial zones, residential zones, ment plant, three natural gas receiving-stations, and two co-generation
administrative zones, financial zones, commercial zones, and leisure zones. plants. The investment, building, and management of the various systems
The entire entity covers a huge area of 288 km2, that is to say, three times of utilities are handled by a company founded in 1996 by the Sino-Singa-
larger than the city of Paris. The above urban characteristics mean that it porean consortium: CSPU (50% affiliated with CSSD) under the authority
is almost impossible to move around without a car. Moreover, the previ- of SIPAC’s bureau for planning and construction.
ously sparse human habitation and the flat topography that characterises
12. Andrew C. Inkpen and Pien Wang, “An Examination of Collaboration and Knowledge Transfer:
the place mean that it was possible to assemble this urban machine with China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park,” Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, No. 4, 2006,
a minimum of political, social, and physical friction. So at first sight the pp. 779-811.
SIP seems to have nothing in common with an “ecological city,” which 13. These controls depend largely on the expertise of Singapore’s Jurong Industrial Estate, which spe-
cialises in environmental pollution issues. See Tai-Chee Wong and Charles Goldblum, “The China-
would privilege compactness, mixed functionality, and less polluting means Singapore Industrial Park: A Turnkey Product of Singapore?”, Geographical Review, Vol. 90, 2000,
of transport. pp. 112-122.

28 china perspectives • No.2017/1

 Rémi Curien – Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?) Urban Development in China

Since 2002, the SIP authorities have set up an even more ambitious envi- materials, and energy set up by the systemic symbiosis shows that the re-
ronmental plan aimed at cutting back on the use of natural resources. They purposing derived from the dried sludge in the process of co-generation is
have caught onto the growing influence of the concept of a circular econ- indeed pertinent from the point of view of energy production (it enables
omy, and have begun to initiate or encourage the implementation of loops more energy to be produced than is consumed in the process). But on the
for reutilising materials, water, and energy among different activities. The other hand, the quantitative contribution by sludge combustion to the SIP’s
SIP was recognised as a “circular economy pilot zone” in 2005, and then as overall energy production is very limited, amounting to 1% to 2%. The syn-
an “eco-industrial national park” in 2008. But it should be emphasised that ergy of sewage treatment and energy is real and pertinent, but its weight
the SIP authorities do not set out precise figures for their targets in this re- in the SIP’s overall metabolism is still low. (16)
spect. Moreover, the resource exchanges take place within an extremely cen-
At first the emphasis was on loops for exchanging resources in the elec- tralised technical system: the flows of input and output stretch over very
tronics industries. The producers of semi-conductors, LCD screens, laptops, large physical spaces (the entire 288 km2. of the SIP, and even beyond). In
and mobile phones formed a primary local industrial chain for the exchange broader terms, the SIP has set up very few systems for reutilising resources
of materials, from the design phase to the production of circuits for com- and energy that would be real alternatives to conventional large networks:
puters, telephones, and television sets. (14) However, according to our inves- i) there is no system for collecting and reusing rainwater; ii) the reuse of
tigations on the spot, it remains difficult to assess their consistency. waste water is very limited. There are abundant water resources in the re-
Moreover, it should be emphasised that they deal essentially with reutilising gion, so the pressure on them is not strong enough to weigh in the balance
materials, not water or energy. against the large cost required to build networks for reuse; iii) the share of
The park authorities have also encouraged companies to reuse their waste local renewable energy in the overall energy mix is similarly low: there are
water for industrial purposes, but the amount of recycled water is still low. only a few solar panels installed by some companies; iv) solid waste is also
A major project is currently being handled by the CSPU in collaboration not recovered in energy or recycled within the SIP.
with Samsung, which owns one of the major factories in the park; its output In short, the sewage treatment/energy synergy introduces a mere drop
is 24,000 cubic metres of waste water per year, of which half can be reused. of symbiosis into the ocean of centralised, conventional, and heavy con-
The CSPU has just built an on-site treatment station for it and has plans to sumption of resources. The technical systems derive from their chosen point
build three kilometres of pipes to supply neighbouring industrial units. of departure and are fundamentally centralised, sectorised, and linear. This
But the SIP’s cutting-edge project in circular economy is the system set means that the solutions introduced in recent years, and aimed towards
up between facilities at the southern extremity of the park: greater restraint, are merely tacked onto the margins of this conventional
- Two waste water treatment plants; infrastructural frame. Moreover, if one widens the analysis beyond the util-
- A co-generating power station using two sources of combustion (natural ities to cover the entire metabolism of the SIP (i.e., to include all the supplies
gas and coal), which produces electricity to supply the regional grid and of water, materials, and energy involved), and if one takes into account the
steam that supplies a local network; figures related to transport activities (we have noted above the preponder-
- A sludge-drying facility operated by Sino-French SIP. (15) ant role of automobile traffic), it seems difficult to consider the SIP a model
In a conventional approach, the sludge ends up in a landfill site after being of sobriety.
carried away by lorry, which entails the consumption of energy, CO2 emis-
sions, and use of precious land in this densely populated region. Under these A model of environmental quality thanks to the
circumstances, the innovation consists of the achievement of a symbiosis Singaporean model
– a circular relationship – between these facilities:
- The sludge is dried in the treatment plant using steam produced by the If the goal of restrained use of resources seems distant, the SIP nonethe-
co-generating power station; less has become a major reference for environmental quality in China. The
- The dried sludge is then used as fuel in the power station in the process quality of the distributed water is above the national average, and the loss
of co-generation (it is burned together with coal); rate is very low: a figure of 7% has been put forward, which is a good per-
- The co-generation power station reuses treated water for cooling; formance by international standards and remarkable for China. The SIP
- The ash produced by the power station is reused by a nearby cement representatives also emphasise the high quality, by Chinese standards, of
factory, the product of which is used by the SIP. their treatment of waste water and sludge. The supplies of electricity and
In this way a synergy is set up, bringing a repurposing between the treat- gas are reliable (very few outages). Natural gas, which is a less polluting
ment of all the water used by the city-park and a part of the latter’s energy source of energy than coal, represents a high proportion in the energy
production. This system, which was first set up in 2009 with the installation mixt.
of the central link of the sludge-drying station, has been in operation since This environmental quality is due to the Singaporean model, which de-
April 2011. According to Sino-French, it enables a reduction in CO2 equiv- pends on tried and tested principles. Firstly, the overall project is the out-
alent to 44,000 tons per year (by saving 17,000 tons of carbon annually),
as well as an annual savings of 3.8 million tons of water. 14. John A. Mathews and Hao Tan, “Progress toward a Circular Economy in China,” Journal of Industrial
Ecology, Vol. 15, No. 3, 2011, pp. 435-457.
15. JV co-founded by CSPU and Sino-French Water, which is itself a joint enterprise combining Suez
A limited energy and environmental sobriety and the Hong Kong developer New World.
16. Rémi Curien and Dominique Lorrain, “Suzhou Industrial Park: une reference environnementale
dans un cadre productiviste” (Suzhou Industrial Park: an environmental reference in a productivist
Nonetheless, the actual savings in relation to the overall consumption of framework) in Dominique Lorrain et al. (ed.), Villes sobres (Low-carbon cities), Presses de Sciences
the city-park remain low. Our quantitative analysis of the flows of water, Po, forthcoming in 2017.

No.2017/1 • china perspectives 29

S p e ci a l feat ure

come of long-term planning intended to last at least 40 years. Secondly, A far-reaching Sino-Singaporean partnership
the park aims at a high degree of territorial autonomy so as to achieve a
“club effect” by sharply differentiating the site from the surrounding con- The Chinese government insisted on two criteria for choosing the location
ditions. Indeed, the SIP was initially planned and equipped as an “island” of this eco-city: the site should be on non-arable land (to satisfy the national
within the megapolitan ocean of the Yangtze Delta, so the question of the priority for preserving agricultural land) and should be in an area of water
provision of utilities was soon handled straightforwardly on the scale of scarcity. In the end a site in the municipality of Tianjin was selected, espe-
the city-park. Thirdly, as we have seen, from the outset there was particular cially because of its strategic location: near Beijing and in the midst of a
attention paid to massive investment in the infrastructure and utilities in large urban area that forms the major economic pole of northern China.
order to attract FDIs. Fourthly, all the utility networks were immediately The exact site of the eco-city is 45 kilometres east of central Tianjin, in the
and simultaneously planned on the same scale to last for a minimum pe- Binhai development zone to the north of the TEDA (Tianjin Economic-tech-
riod of 40 years. (17) The different networks were then built in a controlled nological Development Area).
and co-ordinated manner in accordance with established urban planning The Tianjin Eco-City has a special administration similar to that of the SIP.
rules. Fifthly, the CSPU is in control of all the utilities (drinking water, At the very beginning of the project, the central government created an ad
sewage treatment, gas, electricity, heating) and plays a key role in inte- hoc administrative entity, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Administrative
grating them all. This model enables all the companies to come together Committee (SSTEC-AC), to oversee the launch and administrative manage-
around a single table to co-ordinate the different networks. The mainte- ment of the eco-city. The operation is controlled by a Joint Steering Council
nance of the latter is similarly facilitated and made more efficient. Sixthly, under the shared direction of the Chinese and Singaporean Vice-Premiers
urban planning rules are respected and their stability maintained. Such to decide its strategic aims, and by a Joint Working Committee under the
control from planning to implementation is a major trait that contrasts Chinese Ministry for Urban Development and the Singaporean Ministry for
with the usual urban operations in China. This outcome is due especially National Development, while also including various government agencies
to the strict legal framework (unique in China) governing the collaboration to supervise the implementation of the project.
of the Chinese and Singaporean parties, as well as the pressure exercised As in the case of the SIP, this Sino-Singaporean partnership provides for
by the Singaporeans to ensure respect for the plans and control over the sharing expertise and experience between the administrations of both coun-
building works: tries in the field of urban planning, environmental protection, resources con-
servation, water and waste management, and the preservation of “social
“In the SIP we have a legal management clause to ensure the appli- harmony,” by drawing on the following Singaporean agencies: URA, HDB,
cation of the plans once they are agreed.” (former leading SIP town NEA, PUB, Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Land Transport Au-
planner, in interview). thority, and International Enterprise Singapore. These joint efforts have
“The Singaporeans keep closer to the norms [in comparison with the shaped the operational instruments that give this Chinese eco-city its dis-
Chinese]; they are more serious.” (CSPU official, in interview). tinctive character: the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system, the overall
urban Masterplan that likewise proclaims its innovative nature, the Green
It can now be said that the intentions of 1994 have been fulfilled. Having Building Evaluation Standards, the Integrated Water Management Guide-
assembled large amounts of Singaporean capital and expertise, although it lines, and so on.
did not manage to set up a completely accomplished model of environ- In the SSTEC, the Chinese side is in charge of land acquisition and building
mental sobriety, the SIP is now considered in China to be a model not only the infrastructure, transport networks, and public buildings. A gigantic Sino-
for economic development but also for environmentally friendly urban con- Singaporean public-private joint venture was set up, with 50% of this con-
struction in terms of the quality of infrastructure and utilities (especially sortium under the control of Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding and 50%
the treatment of waste water and sludge) and respect for planning rules under the leadership of the Keppel Group. This joint venture is in charge of
and control of construction. land development, real estate sales, economic promotion, and certain in-
frastructure. The capital provided by the Chinese side consists essentially of
The second flagship project, the eco-city of funds from the sale of land concessions, while that of the Singaporeans is
Tianjin: A green city focused on technology from their financial investment. In the long term at least 30 billion yuan is
and infrastructure to be injected into the overall operation.

In 2007, 13 years after the launch of the SIP and at a time when it was An innovative project aimed at environmental
attracting a growing number of residents and companies, the governments exemplarity
of China and Singapore decided to launch a second showcase project: the
Sino-Singaporean Tianjin Eco-City (SSTEC). Currently this is China’s cutting- Three organisations were involved in elaborating the overall urban plan-
edge urban project. In comparison with the SIP, the SSTEC is more definitely ning of the eco-city: the Chinese Urban Planning Academy, the Tianjin Urban
oriented towards ecology: it was directly planned in pursuit of a goal of re- Planning Institute, and the Singaporean URA agency. This plan provided for
straint on energy use and environmental protection, notably through its building a city of 350,000 inhabitants and 210,000 jobs in an area of 34.2
provision of technical systems for re-utilising resources under Singaporean km2, to be completed by 2020, i.e., within only 12 years. The development
influence. In this way its promotors intend it to become an exemplary pro-
17. Shi Kuang et al., Xincheng guihui yu shijian: Suzhou Gongye Yuanqu lizheng (The planning and
ject in environmental terms, which could in time be replicated throughout implementation of a new city – the case of Suzhou Industrial Park), Zhongguo jianzhu gongye
China. chubanshe, 2011, pp. 293.

30 china perspectives • No.2017/1

 Rémi Curien – Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?) Urban Development in China

Map 2 – Location of the SSTEC

TIANJIN MUNICIPALITY,
BINHAI, AND
BEIJING
SINO-SINGAPOREAN
MUNICIPALITY
TIANJIN ECO-CITY (SSTEC)
TANGSHAN CITY PREFECTURE

SSTEC

TIANJIN MUNICIPALITY Tianjin City Centre

TEDA

High Speed Railway

Highways

SSTEC Airports
HEBEI
PROVINCE Tianjin
Main Railway Stations
City Centre
TEDA Administrative Bodies:

- Provincial Level
HEBEI PROVINCE

Binhai - Prefectural Level

New Zone TANGSHAN CITY PREFECTURE

Binhai Bay - District Level

Binhai

© R. Curien & Safege, 2014.

was planned for three phases, the first two of which foresaw an initial set- international models. There has been no other eco-city project in China that
tlement of 85,000 and the creation of 30,000 jobs in an area of 4 km2 on has established such exact indicators to control its implementation.
the southern boundary from 2008 to 2011, to be followed by an increase Fourthly, as with the SIP, the organisational arrangement allows for the
to 200,000 inhabitants and 150,000 jobs with the provision of a future cen- co-ordinated and controlled design, construction, and exploitation of the
tral zone between 2011 and 2015. different systems for essential services. The provision of all the utilities
The project presents several original features, at least for China. Firstly, the within the eco-city is in the hands of the same regulatory authority: the
eco-city is characterised by a predominance of residential function. The few SSTEC-AC. The building and financing of the infrastructure is brought about
industries for which there is provision are culturally creative, electronic, or by the same multi-sectoral company, Tianjin Eco-City Investment and De-
eco-technological in the fields of solar energy, water, building, transport velopment, which is also a major shareholder of the companies providing
(electric vehicles), and waste, along with light industries that are neither the utilities.
heavy consumers of resources nor polluting, which contributes to the de- Fifthly, several innovative technical systems are being set up.
sired image of an innovative and attractive eco-city. Most of the energy is produced by two co-generating heat and power sta-
Secondly, as in Singapore, the urban Masterplan is intended to give a large tions that preceded the launch of the project and are located outside its
space in the city to water and vegetation for many reasons (preserving soil boundary. However the SSTEC authorities are making plans for some on-
quality and bio-diversity, recreational activities for the inhabitants, aesthetic site production of renewable energy, which should in time provide 20% of
values), by setting up and enhancing a lake, canals, a large central green the energy used in the eco-city, including geothermal sources for heating,
space, and ecological corridors. solar power for heating water in the residential blocks and for street lighting,
Thirdly, the SSTEC-AC has set high goals for itself in both environmental and wind power for generating electricity. Moreover, they have plans for re-
quality and sobriety through the reuse of grey water, pneumatic collection stricting the demand for energy, which is largely determined by the building
and recovery of solid waste, and the local production of renewable energy: sector, by constructing green buildings for which they rely upon the Singa-
solar, wind, and geothermal. The originality on paper for the SSTEC, in com- porean BCA agency (the target is for 100% of the buildings to be con-
parison with other Chinese eco-city projects, consists particularly of its sys- structed according to these norms by 2020). A local system of heating and
tem of quantitative indicators – Key Performance Indicators (KPI) – which cooling to provide hot water and air-conditioning in a business park is also
was the outcome of a joint effort by Singaporean and Chinese experts or- to be developed by Keppel Integrated Engineering.
ganised by the SSTEC-AC to establish its precise aims and to ensure their This project stands out for the proposal to produce a high proportion
achievement. This relies partly on China’s national standards but often in- (50%) of its water supply from non-conventional sources such as desali-
cludes some more exacting indicators based on the Singaporean and other nated seawater and reused waste- and rainwater, which would put it at the

No.2017/1 • china perspectives 31

S p e ci a l feat ure

location of the SSTEC, and the continued lack of facilities and urban ameni-
ties (jobs, schools, hospitals, and commercial premises).
Concerning technical facilities, many solar panels and wind turbines, as
well as geothermal units, have been installed in the southern zone, but it is
difficult to know how many of them are in service yet. The running water
system is built and is in service in the southern area. The networks for treat-
ing and reusing waste water have also been built. The waste water treatment
station is built and has been in service since the end of 2012, but is not yet
able to produce water for reuse. The vacuum waste collection system is al-
ready built and has been operational in the southern zone; it carries solid
waste to a treatment station inside the SSTEC, which is then taken by lorry
for handling outside the eco-city. However, several experts have informed
us that the vacuum collection system is encountering major difficulties be-
cause of blockages in the tubes caused by residents’ failure to sort solid
waste materials properly.
Photo 2 – The SSTEC Southern Zone © R. Curien, November 2013.
An incomplete urban project
level of Singapore, a world leader in this sector. This concern is a priority for
the Chinese leadership. The SSTEC-AC has plans for the setting up of an au- In more general terms, the technical innovations in place cannot be fully
tonomous centralised system for the collection, treatment, and reuse of tested because of the insufficient number of residents. Apart from networks
waste water. In the long run all the used water from the city is to be piped for essential services, a certain number of deficiencies are becoming appar-
into a treatment plant designed to achieve a capacity for handling ent in the environmental quality and sobriety of the operation. In the first
150,000 m3 per day, of which 105,000 would be for reuse. The water treated place, the follow-up to the implementation of the KPIs is conducted by the
for reuse is to be piped to different locations and buildings in the eco-city SSTEC itself and not by any external body, which reduces its credibility. Sec-
for various purposes: flushing power, watering green spaces, road cleaning, ondly, most of the land for the SSTEC was initially unsuitable for building,
refilling ponds and pools, etc. There are also plans for collecting rainwater. so the site preparation required artificial transformation of the soil itself
Two Singaporean agencies, NEA and PUB, have a major role to play in the and the importation of a considerable amount of earth from elsewhere.
design, building, and management of these water systems. The targets set Thirdly, the environmental claims for the eco-city as a model for town plan-
by the SSTEC authorities are similarly high in the field of solid waste (recy- ning seem questionable. Although the urban layout in the southern zone is
cling is set at 60% by 2013). In addition, there is a plan for a vacuum waste indeed not hostile to the pedestrian, and although the urban metrics have
collection system. more human dimensions than many new cities in China (including the SIP),
this eco-city is still wedded to the form of a matrix of immense rectangular
A city that is green and technologically eco-friendly, urban blocks (each one 400 x 400 metres), closed off and with only one or
but still not very populated two entrances. This is inspired by the Singaporean “ecocell” concept, which
posits these dimensions as the best possible basic urban unit for housing
So far, 8 km2 has been built. Most of this is the southern residential zone, residents – it is a common feature in Chinese cities, and it makes moving
which consists of a series of orthogonal blocks separated by a grid of wide about on foot very inconvenient. When interviewed, some urban specialists
roadways. This zone is striking for the prominence of its greenery. The second from the Tianjin Urban Planning Institute emphasised:
striking feature of this cityscape is the visibility of the installations for pro-
ducing renewable energy: the wind towers at the entrance to the SSTEC “The roadways are too wide. The size of each block is too big. Like
and the many solar panels along the roadways and on the roofs of the tower Chang’an Avenue or Tiananmen Square in Beijing, they make the in-
blocks. And finally, these areas are characterised above all by silence and dividual insignificant. The problem is that this metric is not ecological
the virtual absence of human beings, even though the city seems to have (chidu bu gou shengtai).” [translated from Chinese].
brought in more inhabitants since 2014: whereas there were between 2,000
and 3,000 inhabitants in November 2013, that number was put at around In sum, although the Tianjin eco-city offers a conception of the city and
20,000 in May 2015. (18) Be that as it may, if the physical setting has been its utility systems that is in some respects innovative in China, there are lin-
completed more or less in accordance with the initial planning phase, by gering doubts about the implementation of the technical systems for re-
contrast the settlement of residents in the eco-city reveals a considerable utilising resources, particularly because of significant delay in settling
delay. The responsible authorities are having great difficulty getting people residents on the site. The fulfilment of the environmental goals seems to
to come and live there. Several experts interviewed in late 2013 even spoke be compromised by deficiencies in urban planning and its material imple-
of the eco-city as a “dead city” or a “ghost city.” mentation: remote location, weak territorial integration, lack of amenities
There are several factors that might explain this lack of inhabitants, such and public services, high levels of property speculation, and an urban model
as the excessively sustained rhythm of development, property speculation
affecting the eco-city – several thousand apartments were bought by rich 18. Renmin ribao, 22 May 2015, http://j.news.163.com/docs/10/2015052214/AQ7R6NL8
residents in Tianjin municipality but are currently unoccupied – the remote 90016NL9.html (accessed on 15 December 2016).

32 china perspectives • No.2017/1

 Rémi Curien – Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?) Urban Development in China

Table 1 – The constant and the changing factors over more than 20 years of Sino-Singaporean urban
cooperation in China

Constant factors Changing factors

Productivist approach, aimed at generating added financial value.

Increased attention to environmental restraint, renewable
energy, and reutilisation of resources, including water and
From the SIP to the Strong governance and organised institutional integration.
biodiversity in the cities.
SSTEC : the main
characteristics of Long term planning, stability, and respect for decisions taken.
Priority given to the residential sector and higher added
these Sino-
value economic activities.
Singaporean urban High quality of infrastructure and essential services (water, energy,
projects between waste); carefully tended physical amenities, abundant vegetation.
Better communication with the general public, especially
1994 and 2016
through the systematic display of performance indicators.
Functionalist large-scale urban model; an approach focused on
infrastructure and technology.

© R. Curien & Safege, 2016.

and metric unsuitable for environmental goals. (19) This case clearly shows quality of the infrastructure and utilities set up – the idea being, apart from
the limits of the Sino-Singaporean approach focused on technology and in- consequent environmental advantages, to achieve the greatest possible au-
frastructure, which plays down other major aspects of a successful urban tonomy for the territory itself and to produce an effect of club membership
project: residents’ expectations, (20) amenities and public spaces, the inte- because the differentiation of the site from its surroundings adds value to
gration of the project into its environment, and the coherence of the urban the project. The physical urban setting is likewise well cared for, being em-
plan for the eco-city as a whole. bellished by luxuriant vegetation.
Fifthly, the SSTEC, like the SIP, is based on an urban model and metric that
From the SIP to the SSTEC, several ecological remains functionalist: the urban layout consists of a rectangular matrix of
developments within a continuing focus on huge boxed-in city blocks that are unsuitable for environmental objectives;
productivism in addition, the mixture of functions within each zone remains limited.
Moreover, the approach to urban planning and development is still focused
A cross-reading of the SIP and the SSTEC enables us to bring out some on the requirements of the infrastructure and technology.
major constants and some changes in this period of more than 20 years of Nonetheless the SSTEC operation displays several noteworthy develop-
Sino-Singaporean urban production in China. From 1994 to the present ments in the outcome of Sino-Singaporean urban collaboration in China.
there has been a predominant constancy in the guiding principles behind The first of these is that there is greater attention to energy and environ-
these projects. mental sobriety: for example, the local production of renewable energy
In the first place, the Chinese and Singaporeans are pursuing the same (solar, wind, and geothermal), and the reuse of resources (waste water and
major objective in both the SSTEC and the SIP: beyond implementing a pilot solid waste). In addition, priority is given to the residential sector and to
project, it is a matter of generating capital gains. Their vision of the city and economic activities with greater added value and less pollution. Even greater
their approach to urban planning and development are above all produc- care is taken with the quality of the urban living environment. Finally, there
tivist and functionalist. One EDF engineer in sustainable urban development is greater effort given to communication with the public at large, especially
stated his view in an interview with us that the Chinese and the Singapore- through the open display of performance indicators.
ans share the same characteristic: their common aspiration to gigantism:
The advantages and limits of the
“The Singaporeans are not afraid of doing things on a big scale. They penetration of the Singaporean model into
share with the Chinese the mind-set to say ‘we go big’. This makes Chinese cities
them different from the other countries going into China, which are
often more cautious.” The incorporation of the Singaporean model into these two cutting-
edge projects in China shows that it provides an effective way of linking
Secondly, the SIP and the SSTEC have the same modes of governance and economic development with urban planning, and that it allows the con-
institutional organisation. They are: bilateral leadership from the top; an ad struction of a more orderly and environmentally friendly quality than can
hoc administrative structure directed at a central governmental level; equally generally be seen in new cities in China. The improved quality of the in-
shared financial investment and responsibilities through the creation of a frastructure and the utilities provided, of pollution treatment and energy
Sino-Singaporean joint venture company; a regulatory authority responsible
for all essential service networks and a multi-sectoral company in charge of 19. Rémi Curien, “L’éco-cité de Tianjin : innovations et limites d’une conception sino-singapourienne
their financing, construction, and maintenance, which enables co-ordinated d’une ville durable” (Tianjin eco-city: innovation and limits of a Sino-Singaporean conception of
and controlled planning, building, and operation of the different systems. a sustainable city), Métropolitiques, 30 March 2016, http://www.metropolitiques.eu/L-eco-cite-
de-Tianjin-innovations.html (accessed on 20 December 2016).
Thirdly, the Singaporean influence ensures long-term stable and respected 20. Andrew Flynn et al., “Eco-cities, Governance and Sustainable Lifestyles: The Case of the Sino-Sin-
urban planning. Fourthly, thanks to the two points mentioned above, the gapore Tianjin Eco-City,” Habitat International, Vol. 53, 2016, pp. 78-86.

No.2017/1 • china perspectives 33

S p e ci a l feat ure

efficiency, and the care given to landscape and urban living environment “In China, these projects, apart from those co-managed with the Sin-
quality, are all characteristic of the SIP and the SSTEC that have been fash- gaporeans, ‘blow up the concepts’ [chaozuo gainian], and do not pur-
ioned by the collaboration with Singapore and now stand as models to sue ecological goals. The eco-cities are ‘packaging’, estate agents’
be spread across the whole country by the Chinese government and its ‘sales patter’.” [translated from the Chinese].
experts.
However, distributing the advantages of the Singaporean model among Furthermore, even supposing that the financial and institutional condi-
other Chinese cities is still limited, for two main reasons. Firstly, the “Singa- tions for diffusing the Singaporean model throughout Chinese cities could
porean model” is expensive: it requires colossal basic investment to build be brought together at some point in the future, it is still pertinent to ques-
long-lasting, high-quality infrastructure, and this does not make it easily tion the validity of any wholesale generalisation of this model. In fact, Sino-
applicable to an ordinary new city in China. Secondly, in relation to the or- Singaporean urban production focused on supply, infrastructure, and
dinary systems in China, it requires deep institutional changes in the way technology has major limitations in terms of environmental sobriety and
local administrations operate, and these have not yet been undertaken by urban and social integration.
Beijing. It effectively calls for long-term vision, continuity, and efficiency in Our study shows that Chinese and Singaporean leaders continue to share
the policies and plans being followed, and a close articulation between the an approach to urban production that is above all functionalist and pro-
different administrative bureaus involved, all of which are the opposite of ductivist. Their projects give priority to the search for ways of generating
the principles that currently guide local political and administrative prac- added financial value, and make use of environmental messages within the
tices, namely short-termism, great changeability in decisions already taken, logic of land marketing as a “passport” to modernity or urban prestige. They
and strong compartmentalisation of administrative bureaus. obtain positive results in terms of environmental quality and pollution treat-
Several of our interviews show how difficult it is to generalise the principle ment, but there is a patent gap between their proclaimed objectives and
of stable and effective planning in Chinese cities. The work of urban planners their materialisation in terms of sobriety in the uses of energy and natural
usually carries little weight in the face of the overwhelming power of po- resources. In the SIP and the SSTEC alike there is a technological and land-
litical leaders. One official from the planning and construction office for scaping “ecological layer” added onto a very conventional urban planning
Suzhou City observed: and infrastructural framework that remains productivist, functionalist, cen-
tralised, and divided by sectors. There is an attempt at environmental friend-
“In China we have an expression ‘A plan drawn on a piece of paper is liness, but it is marginal and complementary to the conventional urban and
worth less than a sentence from the boss’ [guihua zhishang huahua infrastructural structure. These entail an expensive use of natural resources
bu ru lingdao yi ju hua]. That means that planning depends on the and energy, and structurally block the development of resource reutilisation
good will of the local party leader. Another saying is ‘One leader = systems and a more substantial “environmentalisation.” In addition, this
one plan’ [yi ren shuji, yi ren guihua], because the terms in office of “infra-techno-focused” approach pays insufficient attention to the expec-
city leaders are very short, usually three years, so one leader makes tations and behaviour of the residents who make use of it.
one plan and the next will probably overturn it all.” [translated from This model also leads to problems in coherence and urban and social in-
the Chinese]. tegration: there is insufficient account taken of the territorial context, a ten-
dency toward territorial isolation, (22) and marked inequalities in access to
Another problem is the lack of overall planning and coordination between housing in view of its high costs. In the SSTEC there is a striking contrast
the administrative bureaus in the management of the different utility net- between the highly-favoured social category of rich owners for whom most
works. As a result, the roadways are frequently dug up and turned into work of the residences are built and the rudimentary social conditions of the un-
sites. One commonly used expression, relayed to us by a professor from derprivileged temporary migrant workers who build them. (23) The case of
Tongji University, illustrates this phenomenon: the Tianjin eco-city shows that the success of such projects depends not
only on technology but above all on urban social factors.
“In China we have an expression: ‘making the road into a zip fastener’ Looking beyond the Sino-Singaporean projects, our investigations on the
[zuo lalian malu]. One day you put in the gas pipes, and you close spot in Tianjin, Shanghai, and Suzhou show that, in a manner similar to the
the zip opening; on the next day you open it again to put in the water SIP and the SSTEC, in Chinese cities there is a partial improvement in envi-
pipes, and the same again for the telecommunications cables. It is a ronmental quality to be seen, whereas sobriety in the use of resources re-
waste of effort, and the city is constantly turned into a succession mains a distant prospect. (24) Environmentalisation is restricted by being
of roadworks.” [translated from the Chinese]. embedded in strongly developmentalist urban production. The national pri-
21. Choon Piew Pow and Harvey Neo, “Seeing Red Over Green: Contesting Urban Sustainabilities in
In sum, the advances in urban planning and environmental quality ob- China,” Urban Studies, Vol. 50, 2013, p. 2256-2274; Chien Shiuh-Shen, “Chinese Eco-Cities: A Per-
spective of Land-Speculation-Oriented Local Entrepreneurialism,” China Information, Vol. 27, 2013,
served in the SIP and the SSTEC were made possible by political and finan- pp. 173-196.
cial capacities, legal arrangements, and organisational integration of the 22. Tai-Chee Wong, “Eco-Cities in China: Pearls in the Sea of Degrading Urban Environments?”, Eco-
essential services that remain exceptional for the country and do not seem city Planning, 2011, pp. 131-150.
23. Federico Caprotti, “Critical Research on Eco-Cities? A walk Through the Sino-Singapore Tianjin
to be easily applicable throughout Chinese cities in general. The literature (21) Eco-City, China,” Cities, Vol. 36, 2014, pp. 10-17.
and the experts in our interviews estimate that, apart from the SIP and the 24. Rémi Curien, “Services essentiels en réseaux et fabrique urbaine en Chine : verdir le développement
SSTEC, the environmental theme in projects named “eco-cities” or displayed accéléré ?” (Essential services network and fabrique urbaine in China: greening accelerated de-
velopment?), Urbanités, special issue “Mondes urbains chinois,” 2016, http://www.revue-urban-
as exemplary in China is above all a slogan. According to one urban expert ites.fr/services-essentiels-en-reseaux-et-fabrique-urbaine-en-chine-verdir-le-developpement-acce
from the Shanghai Engineering Institute: lere/ (accessed on 20 December 2016).

34 china perspectives • No.2017/1

 Rémi Curien – Singapore, a Model for (Sustainable?) Urban Development in China

ority for the next 15 years remains rapid large-scale development, with a short-termism, and patterns of standardisation, which is to say, in a direction
target of 6-7% economic growth. For the Chinese authorities, this must be fundamentally opposed to the requirements of environmental sobriety and
achieved through massive urbanisation: a sustained urban growth rate of sustainability.
4% per year, which amounts to an extra 300 million urban residents by
2030. To reach these objectives, the authorities maintain the arrangements z Translated by Jonathan Hall
set up since the 1980s: an entrepreneurial institutional system (25) in which
local political leaders are assessed by the Communist party-state essentially z Rémi Curien is a geographer and urban planner with a doctorate in
according to the economic growth generated in their constituencies over a urban planning. He is a technical advisor on urban development in
short-term period; and a hyper-productivist and functionalist urban produc- China at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
tion operational mode. (26) Even today, in the eyes of Chinese leaders, what Development (remi.curien@enpc.fr).
is modern is what is great: roads, buildings, facilities, networks, cities them-
selves. All these factors drag development towards the aims of productivism, Manuscript received on 1 June 2016. Accepted on 7 December 2016.

25. Wu Fulong, “Re-orientation of the City Plan: Strategic Planning and Design Competition in China,”
Geoforum, No. 38, 2007, pp. 379-392; Zhang Tingwei, “Planning Theory and Reform in Transitional
China,” City Planning Review, Vol. 32, 2008, pp. 15-24.
26. Wu Zhiqiang et al., Chengshi guihua yuanli (Principles of urban planning), Tongji University, Zhong-
guo jianzhu gongye chubanshe, 2010 (4th edition); Rémi Curien, “Chinese Urban Planning – En-
vironmentalising a Hyper-Functionalist Machine?”, art. cit.; Wu Fulong, Planning for Growth: Urban
and Regional Planning in China, New York & London, Routledge, 2015.

No.2017/1 • china perspectives 35